Extent & Distribution of UK Lowland Heathland Habitats

The tables below give information on the extent (area covered)
and distribution of lowland heathland habitats around the UK. Much
of the habitat occurs in lowland England, including the distinctive
heaths of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, those across Hampshire,
Surrey, Sussex and Kent, the eastern heaths of the Suffolk coast,
Brecklands and Norfolk, and at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, and
Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. In Wales, most of the lowland
heath is found to the west, along the coasts of the Gower,
Pembrokeshire, the Llyn Peninsula, and Anglesey. Lowland heath
occurs from the coasts to the lowland-upland transition zone in
Scotland, and is a scattered habitat across much of Northern
Ireland.

Under the EU Habitats Directive, most UK lowland heathland falls
within the European dry heaths type or Northern Atlantic wet heaths
with Erica tetralix type. These types occur widely around
the UK and mostly in the uplands, where they can form extensive
stands; they are far more localised in lowland areas. The Cornish
heaths on the Lizard Peninsular include all areas of the Dry
Atlantic coastal heaths with Erica vagans type, whilst the
Temperate Atlantic wet heaths with Erica ciliaris and
Erica tetralix type is a rare habitat occurring only in
Cornwall, the Somerset/Devon border, and Dorset.

EU Habitats Directive Annex I types

The table below shows an historic (dating back
to around 2012) estimated extent of lowland heathland habitat types
on Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive. The data are derived from
the 2013 UK Report on Implementation of the
Habitats Directive. Note that for habitats that occur in both
the lowlands and uplands, the area given is the total for both
locations.